In promoting the bill, Governor Martin
O'Malley has said that the legislation is needed to help protect the
children of gay and lesbian couples.

“It is not right or just that the
children of gay couples should have lesser protections than the
children of other families in our state,” O'Malley testified during
a committee hearing. “Nor would it be right to force religious
institutions to conduct marriages that conflict with their own
religious beliefs and teachings.”

Opponents of the measure have vowed to
put the issue before voters in the fall. To put the measure on the
ballot, opponents need nearly 56,000 valid signatures, one-third of
which would need to be submitted by May 31 and the remainder by June
30.

Maryland becomes the eighth state to
legalize gay nuptials. Earlier this month, Washington state
lawmakers approved a similar measure.